Naomi Campbell is living proof that some bad habits are hard to break. The inimitable fashion icon, currently celebrating more than a quarter century as one of the industry's most in-demand (and infamous) models, has fought many demons in her 41 years. She's beaten drug addiction, anger issues, and ethical scandals. These days, her personal e-mail bears the following signature: "Love & Light, Naomi." Yet, as we soon discover, one last diva trait still lingers: her trademark tardiness. She's nearly two hours late to her Harper's Bazaar photo shoot. That's the bad news. The good news? She's so worth the wait.

When Campbell arrives, traces of the notorious Hurricane Naomi of years past — a swirl of entourage and phone-throwing attitude — are nowhere to be found. She arrives alone, barefaced and gorgeous, smiling behind big sunglasses, draped in mink. She is energetic and talkative. She's flipping through photos on her BlackBerry of dresses that Alexander McQueen's creative director, Sarah Burton, has sent her to consider for Mick Jagger and L'Wren Scott's upcoming Christmas party. Then it's on to the Elizabeth Taylor auction at Christie's, which Campbell viewed privately the night before. "Now, that woman had some jewels," she says. She's mum on which were her favorite pieces but lets it slip that she sent her boyfriend of four years, Vladislav Doronin, a handsome Moscow-based real estate entrepreneur, back for a second look. "It is the holidays." She winks.

Next, Campbell is on to the clothes. She finds the stylist to approve the racks of clothes for today's shoot, flicking through garments from friends like Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana and Givenchy's Riccardo Tisci (which please her) and a few from other designers that she deems too referential to Azzedine Alaïa. "He's like my father," she says. "I'll be in trouble if he sees me in a rip-off."

In an age in which most models roll onto sets resembling raggedy street urchins and put on whatever they're told to, Campbell is, as she puts it, "old-school." She's an original supermodel, a woman whose Amazonian beauty has inspired an industry for generations. She needn't wear something she doesn't want to. And once the camera is clicking, she puts herself in the hands of the photographer; she doesn't even look at the monitor between shots, which is unheard of in modern modeling.

The fact that Naomi Campbell is still working today, fronting high-fashion campaigns (including Givenchy, Roberto Cavalli, and Dolce & Gabbana) and walking top-tier designers' runways while many of her 1990s supermodel sisters are nestled into domestic lives or high-street fashion gigs, is not lost on her. "It's always surprising to get asked to do a job I did 20 years ago," she says of the recent Cavalli campaign, which was shot by Steven Meisel. "I'm very blessed, and I know that."

Cavalli likens her to a goddess. "I compare Naomi to Venus — her beauty is indescribable," says the designer. "She's never fake, and basically she's perfect." Her "take that" hauteur and touched-by-God beauty have rendered her a designer favorite since she was a teenager. Just ask Dolce and Gabbana. "We met at the beginning of her career, more than 25 years ago. From the very beginning, she was special, had great personality, and was determined and smart," Domenico says. His partner, Stefano, chimes in: "She never rests on her laurels and always reinvents herself. She is a volcano of ideas, just like us!"

Campbell's personality is magnetic. "People flock to Naomi because of her larger-than-life persona," says designer Marc Jacobs. Today she's the nucleus of a swirl of international movers and shakers. Pat McGrath, the celebrated makeup artist and a longtime friend, remembers Campbell's 40th birthday in Cannes two years ago. "There are no words to describe that night," she says. Who was there? "More like who wasn't there! The Black Eyed Peas, Grace Jones, Marc, Riccardo, Domenico and Stefano, Carine Roitfeld. Everyone on the dance floor was there till 6:00 A.M.! People had traveled from all over the world for that one night." The evening had such an impact on Jacobs that it served as inspiration for his Spring 2011 fashion show, a modern take on early hedonistic 1970s images. "We were all dancing up a storm. I mean my ankles were literally swollen and I could barely walk by the time I left," says Jacobs. "There was just this hot summer feeling that felt like those great old days of disco."

After more than 25 years in front of the camera, Campbell knows more poses than a drag queen, an apt comparison since she is a bona fide gay icon. But that Body, gleaming and exotic, still looks as good as ever.

Campbell admits to being genetically blessed with a high metabolism. Still, she is also gracious enough to say that as she's gotten a bit older, she exercises and watches her diet. "For me, carbs are a treat now." She's vigilant about her beauty routine too: steams, facials — "everything I can to keep my skin elasticated," she laughs. She says plastic surgery is fine "for those who do it for themselves and not to please someone else," but she isn't fazed about getting older. "I don't worry about a number. I'm fine with aging." She looks fantastic, though we can't chalk it all up to good genes and facials. There is clarity behind her green contact lenses, and she seems more in control than ever. Which wasn't always the case.

Campbell's past is notorious: Between 1998 and 2008, she was accused on several separate occasions of committing acts of violence against employees, policemen, and even her therapist. (Three accusations involved assault with a mobile phone.) Getting Campbell to address her issues isn't easy, like trying to catch a cat by its tail. But she ultimately does address them: "Look, you have to make mistakes. That's how you learn and that's how the world works," she says. "I've made a few."

Remarkably, she maintained her reputation as a fashion goddess throughout these bouts of bad publicity. In 2010, when she testified in a trial at The Hague over accusations Mia Farrow made that Campbell was aware that diamonds she had been gifted were from Liberia's then-president Charles Taylor, since charged with dealing in blood diamonds, she set fashion blogs ablaze with her prim, perfect Alaïa ensembles. "What makes a person is the ability to look at themselves and deal with their own lives," Campbell says. "How you deal with [your actions] is what defines you."

Many credit her newfound sincerity to her sobriety. Campbell is tight-lipped on the subject ("It's something very personal," she explains), but she has taken others under her wing. "When I was having problems with substances and stuff, she really helped me to find a rehab place to go to," says Jacobs. "Naomi has always been there for me."

"If my friend puts out a hand, I'm going to take it. Helping him helps me, in a way. It's a true friendship, and we are there for each other," she says. "Regardless of my ego or my habits or Naomi's idiosyncrasies, whether it's her temperament or whatever, she's never let me down," adds Jacobs.

McGrath is quick to add that Campbell's generosity extends beyond sobriety. She remembers once being stranded at an airport with 35 cases of makeup and being told she couldn't check them all in. Coincidentally, Campbell called her at that moment and learned of her plight. "Within three minutes of putting the phone down, the head of the airline had checked me in personally, apologized for any inconvenience, and escorted me to the first-class lounge," McGrath recalls. "Naomi had called them directly. She is that nice. And that powerful!"

But the friend who currently seems to be helping Campbell the most is Doronin. "He's a great man and very supportive of me, both emotionally and when it comes to giving me advice," says Campbell. "I love my partner very much." The two, who met at the Cannes Film Festival in 2008, now live together in Moscow, even though Doronin is still legally married. (His marital status doesn't seem to be an issue. In fact, Campbell and Doronin posed for pictures with Doronin's daughter and estranged wife at a benefit Campbell organized in 2010.)

When she's away from the cameras and not globe-trotting with Doronin, Campbell pursues her charity work in earnest. In 2005, she staged Fashion for Relief, a celebrity-stocked fundraising fashion show, in response to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, then franchised it into cities around the world, raising millions for various causes. Nelson Mandela calls her an "honorary granddaughter," and last November she received an award from UNESCO for her humanitarian efforts.

While she's made headlines for her antics and activism off the runway, Campbell, at her core, is still a supermodel. "But I would never call myself that," she says, laughing. "I don't have any superhuman powers." Unless you consider transformation a superpower. It's clear why this industry needs her, but why does Campbell need fashion? "I still love what I do," she says. "It's a new challenge to see how people can change your look. I like words like transformation, reinvention, and chameleon." She lets out a laugh, adding, "Because one word I don't like is predictable."

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